@@ -25,7 +25,11 @@ export const REVIEW_FIELDS_SCHEMA = {
         summary: { type: "string", description: "What the pull request actually changes." },
         repoFit: { type: "string", description: "Repository fit and meaningful value for Copilot users." },
         compliance: { type: "string", description: "Deterministic checks: frontmatter, naming, README regeneration, manifests." },
-        differentiation: { type: "string", description: "How it differs from existing resources and native model capability." },
+        differentiation: {
+            type: "string",
+            description:
+                "Knowledge-uplift verdict (high / partial / none) with the specific content a capable model would not produce unprompted, plus overlap with existing resources.",
+        },
         risks: { type: "string", description: "Correctness, security, licensing, or harmful-content concerns." },
         validation: { type: "string", description: "Evidence the contributor tested or validated the change." },
         confidence: { type: "string", enum: ["low", "medium", "high"], description: "Confidence in the recommendation." },
@@ -60,6 +64,16 @@ function sharedRules(repo, guidancePath) {
         "  - `gh pr diff <number> -R " + repo + "` for the actual change (use `--name-only` first if the diff is large).",
         "  - `gh pr checks <number> -R " + repo + "` when checks are failing, to see which ones and why.",
         "Judge the submitted result, not assumptions about the tool that produced it. A title ending in 🤖🤖🤖 is a disclosure, not a defect.",
+        "",
+        knowledgeUpliftRules(),
+    ].join("\n");
+}
+
+function knowledgeUpliftRules() {
+    return [
+        "Knowledge uplift — apply the \"Knowledge uplift\" test from the code-review skill to every agent, instruction, skill, prompt, hook, or workflow the PR adds or substantially changes. It is the criterion most often under-applied, so do not skip it for well-formatted PRs:",
+        "  - Always start the `differentiation` field with the `high` / `partial` / `none` classification and the quoted lines that justify it, then note any overlap with existing resources.",
+        "  - `none` must not be `approve`: use `needs-insight`, or `close` when it is also a near-duplicate. `partial` is usually `request-changes`; name the generic sections to cut in `suggestedComment`.",
     ].join("\n");
 }
 
 
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ For every pull request:
   reason for `request-changes`.
 - **Duplication** — search the repo for an existing agent/instruction/skill covering the
   same ground. Near-duplicates are `needs-insight` unless the overlap is total.
+- **Knowledge uplift** — the most common way a well-formatted PR still fails. Apply the
+  "Knowledge uplift" test from `.github/skills/code-review/SKILL.md` to every content
+  resource. `none` is never `approve` (use `needs-insight`, or `close` if it is also a
+  near-duplicate); `partial` is usually `request-changes`.
 - **Provenance** — content copied from elsewhere without attribution, or obviously
   machine-generated filler with no evidence it was tested, is `needs-insight` at best.
 - **Checks and conflicts** — failing CI or a conflicting branch is `request-changes`,
@@ -57,7 +61,9 @@ For every pull request:
 - `rationale` is one sentence shown on the card. Lead with the deciding factor.
 - `summary` describes what the PR actually changes, in the reviewer's own words.
 - `repoFit`, `compliance`, `differentiation`, `risks`, and `validation` map to the
-  SKILL.md criteria — fill in the ones that mattered, leave the rest out.
+  SKILL.md criteria — fill in the ones that mattered, leave the rest out. The exception
+  is `differentiation`: always fill it for content PRs, leading with the knowledge-uplift
+  classification and its evidence.
 - `checkNext` is for the maintainer: the one thing to verify before acting.
 - `suggestedComment` is prefilled into the board's comment box, so write it as a comment
   addressed to the contributor. Be specific, name files and line numbers, and keep the
 
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ Confirm that a submission addresses a specific GitHub Copilot workflow,
 technology, domain constraint, or user problem. Flag contributions that:
 
 - provide generic advice that current models already handle well without
-  meaningful uplift
+  meaningful uplift (see [Knowledge uplift](#knowledge-uplift))
 - restate an existing resource without a clear differentiator
 - use broad claims such as doing everything for every project
 - lack concrete instructions, constraints, examples, or expected outcomes
@@ -41,6 +41,49 @@ Paid or commercial services are not automatically unsuitable. Evaluate whether
 the contribution provides standalone user value and follows the repository's
 guidance for paid-service submissions.
 
+## Knowledge uplift
+
+A resource is only valuable if it changes what the model does. Well-formatted,
+compliant content can still add nothing. Apply this test to every agent,
+instruction, skill, prompt, hook, or workflow that a PR adds or substantially
+changes:
+
+1. Picture a current frontier model given the same task with no resource
+   loaded. What would it do?
+2. Identify what this resource makes it do differently. The value is that
+   delta, not the content itself.
+
+Count as real uplift:
+
+- facts the model is unlikely to know or get right, such as recent or niche
+  APIs, version-specific breaking changes, and non-obvious gotchas
+- internal, proprietary, or organization-specific tools and conventions
+- constraints that deliberately override sensible defaults
+- bundled scripts, templates, or data that produce deterministic results
+- multi-step workflows that wire specific tools or MCP servers together
+- concrete examples of non-obvious expected output
+
+Do not count as uplift:
+
+- generic best practices such as clean code, SOLID, DRY, meaningful names,
+  writing tests, or handling errors
+- restatements of well-known public documentation for mainstream languages and
+  frameworks
+- persona framing such as "You are an expert X" without new constraints
+- checklists of behavior models already exhibit by default
+- long prose that a one-line user request would replace
+
+Length, polish, and structure are not evidence of value. Quote or cite the
+specific lines that carry the uplift; if you cannot find any, say so plainly.
+Classify the result as:
+
+- **high** — most of the content is non-obvious to a capable model
+- **partial** — a useful core surrounded by generic filler
+- **none** — a capable model would behave essentially the same without it
+
+Do not recommend approval when uplift is **none**. For **partial**, ask the
+author to cut the named generic sections and expand the specific ones.
+
 ## AI-authored submissions
 
 A PR title ending in `🤖🤖🤖` is an intentional AI-authorship disclosure from